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Published:
July 26, 2008
Ten
Severn Barrage schemes being considered by the government
 Proposals
for a range of different barrages across the Severn Estuary, near
Burnham-On-Sea, are being considered as part of plans to develop
tidal power in the UK, the Government confirmed this week.
A
list of ten projects being examined by the Government's feasibility
study into tidal energy also includes proposals for tidal lagoons
and a scheme which would feature a wave farm and four marinas.
The list of proposals which will be given further consideration
were unveiled by Energy Secretary John Hutton at an event in Cardiff.
A shortlist will be published later in the year for which schemes
will be taken forward for more extensive research.
The 10 schemes announced today include the 10-mile Lavernock Point
to Brean Down barrage plan, which could generate up to five per
cent of the UK's electricity, and the shorter Shoots barrage further
up the estuary.
| .The
ten Severn Barrage options: |
Outer Barrage from Minehead to Aberthaw – this would
be the largest barrage and would make maximum use of the
Severn Estuary tidal resource;
Middle
Barrage from Brean Down to Lavernock Point – most well-studied
option, known as the Cardiff-Weston barrage;
Middle
Barrage from Hinkley to Lavernock Point – as option
2 but lands at Hinkley;
Inner Barrage
(Shoots Barrage) – also known as English Stones scheme
and studied in detail by the Sustainable Development Commission;
Beachley
Barrage – barrage further upstream, smaller generating
capacity than Shoots;
Tidal Fence
proposal – a barrier constructed over part of the Cardiff
to Weston line, with open sections, incorporating tidal
stream turbines to capture energy from the ebb and flood
tides;
Lagoon
enclosure on the Welsh grounds (Fleming lagoon) – one
of the previously studied Russell lagoons from the 1980s;
Tidal lagoon
concept – a proposal for a number of tidal lagoons;
Tidal reef
proposal – a concept that would include floating turbines;
Severn
Lake Scheme – a barrage just over a half-a-mile wide
in the same location as the Cardiff-Weston scheme designed
to allow the construction of a number of additional features,
including a wave farm on the seaward side and four marinas.
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The
list also includes an even larger “Outer Barrage” from
Minehead in Somerset to Aberthaw (exclusively featured
here by Burnham-On-Sea.com last week) and the Beachley barrage,
which would be further upstream and have a smaller operating capacity
than the Shoots barrage.
Mr Hutton said: "Harnessing the power of the Severn Estuary
could be an engineering project of breathtaking scale and we will
look at the full range of technologies and locations."
"Such a project could play an important role in our ambition
to dramatically increase the amount of energy from renewable sources."
"The tidal range on the Severn is the second largest in the
world and has the potential to provide around per cent of the
UK's current electricity demand."
The two-year, multi-million-pound feasibility study aims to assess
the costs, benefits and impact of such a tidal scheme in the Severn
and identify a single preferred project from the options that
have been proposed.
Proposals for a barrage have attracted controversy, with wildlife
groups concerned about the impact it could have on the rich ecosystems
in the area.
The Government's sustainability watchdog the Sustainable Development
Commission (SDC) last year said a tidal barrage blocking the tide's
flow through the estuary could be built if it complied with environmental
laws.
But green groups such as Friends of the Earth have called for
less environmentally damaging schemes such as tidal lagoons, which
would harness the tide's power as it ebbed and flowed.
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Official
Severn Lake Website [External Link]
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